Chapter 206

Gu Xixi rested a moment, forced herself up, and said, "Everyone has worked hard these past two days; go back to your rooms and sleep."

"After you've slept enough, I'll prepare some sweet soup tonight to treat everyone."

"Great!!" He Jinglan cheered.

The three young people exchanged smiles from a distance.

An Qinghe said, "I truly don't know how Gu Xixi comes up with so many varieties of sweet soup; I've never seen any of them before, and they're all delicious."

"It's a pity we can't drink them every day."

Gu Xixi thought, "Do I even need to think? I've been to countless milk tea and dessert shops, drunk who-knows-how-many kinds of drinks; whipping up a little sweet water is child's play."

Now everyone in the family knows Gu Xixi can't cook, but she can make all sorts of odd sweet soups.

Chilled mung bean soup, fruit drink, secret homemade sour plum tea, aged tangerine peel rock sugar wheatgrass drink, fresh cherry fruit tea, ice wine‑infused osmanthus glutinous rice balls…

Not only are they tasty, they often bring surprises; they can be called a brand‑new experience for the palate.

But Gu Xixi has been busy lately; she only whips these up when she happens to have free time and is in a good mood.

Gu Xixi laughed, "It's just wanting a drink—easy."

"Now that the weather is hot, we should drink something cool, thirst‑quenching, and appetizing."

"I make it early each morning; the complicated ones can't be guaranteed regularly, but the simple ones are easy enough."

An Qinghe and He Jinglan cheered again.

An Qinghe suddenly thought of something, his eyes widened as he sprang up from the ground.

"Gu Xixi! How about this: when you have time, write down a few more sweet‑soup recipes; I'll invest money to open a sweet‑soup shop in Cloud Ridge County, giving you a thirty percent stake and quarterly dividends."

He Jinglan exclaimed in admiration, "No wonder you're a merchant—even exhausted like this, you still spot a money‑making opportunity."

Gu Xixi pondered, then smiled, "That could actually work."

"But, Brother An, you should first return to Cloud Ridge County to scout the situation; we can discuss the next steps later."

An Qinghe nodded, furrowed his brow and lowered his head, already beginning to ponder how to price the sweet soup, what flavors Cloud Ridge County folks prefer, the shop's startup costs, whether there would be profit, and so on.

The three said their greetings to Lao Langzhong and were about to leave.

Lao Langzhong suddenly tapped the table and said, "Wait a moment."

"You've accompanied me in my labors these past few days; it's time I told you where these medicines are headed."

The three had no choice but to turn back and look at Lao Langzhong.

He Jinglan mischievously said, "Master Jiang, don't tell us yet—can I guess?"

Lao Langzhong smiled and said, "Go ahead, girl."

"Hmm…" He Jinglan slyly said, "From Huachi Du Cun, heading Xi Bei, prepared for a large group of people."

"But after the medicines leave here, I'm not sure exactly where they're to be sent."

Lao Langzhong's expression showed no surprise; he nodded and laughed, "Old man here knew—you and Gu Xixi, you two clever girls, had already figured it out."

"Otherwise, how could Gu Xixi drop her other tasks and follow me on this without asking questions?"

Gu Xixi muttered softly, "Master, you make it sound like I'm usually a disobedient rebellious disciple."

Lao Langzhong and He Jinglan both laughed.

Actually, An Qinghe also understood the gist at this moment.

But he wasn't a native of the Great Ye kingdom; even if various thoughts turned in his stomach, he would only politely say,

"You all chat; I'll head back first to consider our sweet‑soup shop plan."

After An Qinghe left,

Gu Xixi asked Lao Langzhong, "The person who commissioned you to make the medicine—did he ever tell you to whom it should be handed over?"

Having finished the major task he had undertaken, Lao Langzhong's whole person relaxed.

He yawned and said, "You mean Xiao Chen, right?"

"He said, as long as the medicine is ready and handed to you within five days, you know what to do."

Crack—a fissure appeared in Gu Xixi's forced smile.

She smiled through clenched teeth, "As expected, even I have been arranged."

Lao Langzhong sensed something off, "You were fine just a moment ago—why are you suddenly unhappy?"

Gu Xixi composed herself and told Lao Langzhong, "I'm not unhappy. Master, rest assured—I'll hand over these medicines together with the earlier few boxes of life‑preserving fertility pills to the proper person today, but…"

"I just feel it's a waste on your behalf—he made you do all this work and you didn't ask for payment; you've really lost out."

Lao Langzhong grinned, sweeping away his fatigue, even looking somewhat pleased.

"How do you know the master didn't ask him for payment?"

He hehe'd a few times, held up five fingers, his tone boastful, "Five hundred taels—how about that?"

Gu Xixi stared wide‑eyed.

He Jinglan exclaimed in surprise, "Master Jiang, you're amazing!"

Lao Langzhong said, "My disciple works hard to support his family and still has to occasionally buy precious medicinal herbs to cheer the old man up."

"As this blind old man, how could I drag my disciple down? We need money!"

Once, Lao Langzhong lived alone on the half‑slope of Shitou Village, where he didn't care about money.

But now it's different—an entire family needs food, drink, clothing, and daily use.

Recently, Lao Langzhong's patient numbers have been gradually increasing; each time he earns consultation fees, he brings them home for Zhang Shen to manage household expenses.

But he is benevolent as a doctor and never overcharges for his fees.

Thus, Mu Nan Zhao's big business deal came just in time.

Returning to the front courtyard, Shitou was about to head to school.

Gu Xixi had Shitou deliver three sentences to Master Liu.

He Jinglan, Mr. He, was exhausted last night, slept in this morning, and troubled Master Liu to also cover the class.

The things they wanted are ready, but the quantity is too large for anyone to deliver, so come pick them up yourself.

Hand over money, hand over goods.

Shitou nodded; he understood the first sentence but not the second, and was about to ask.

Gu Xixi pressed his hand on his head and said, "Adult matters, don't ask about them, okay?"

Shitou nodded sensibly.

Xiao Qinger gazed hopefully at Shitou, "Shitou brother, is school fun?"

She had never gone to school, only hearing Shitou brother say that going to that place meant she had to wait until noon to return and play with her.

"Hmm..." Shitou thought for a moment, "It's fun, but also not fun."

Meng Dangni zi came over and said, "Qinger, don't block Shitou brother."

He's late for school, and will be punished by his father.

Qinger asked innocently, "What punishment?"

Shitou said, "There's hitting the palm, standing as punishment, it all depends on the teacher's mood."

Qinger jumped in fright and quickly dodged, "Getting hit on the palm really hurts, Shitou brother, hurry up and go, run there!"

Seeing off those who went to school.

Meng Dangni zi said, "I was afraid you stayed up all night and wanted to sleep first, so after consulting Zhang Shen I made cold noodles."

This thing is hung in the well water to cool; whoever is hungry can eat it anytime, it's convenient.

Gu Xixi felt moved, "Meng older sister is so thoughtful; in this hot weather, eating this is exactly what's refreshing and appetizing."

"Wait for me to nap a bit; when I wake up I'll definitely eat a big bowl of it!"

Gu Xixi didn't know how long she had slept when Zhang Shen woke her with a pat.

"Shitou has finished school, Master Liu brought him back."

Gu Xixi opened her sleepy eyes and said, "Ah?"

Zhang Shen said, "Usually when I invite Master Liu in for tea he refuses, but today for some reason he sat in the courtyard, looking, and actually wouldn't leave for a while."